


Bitter Sweetheart

by WoodleNoodle



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Middle School, Angst, Ice is smol, M/M, Sleepovers, Slow Burn, because why not lmao, don't even bother, i hgibe up, idfk where I'm goin with this, probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-24
Packaged: 2019-02-03 09:37:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12745713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoodleNoodle/pseuds/WoodleNoodle
Summary: Middle school AU DenNor!Mathias and Lukas are best friends- Okay, Mathias is one of Lukas's only friends, and vice versa. But that doesn't mean anything, because they're still in it together when faced with the challenges that are brought on by growing up in middle school, as little as Lukas likes to admit that fact. Lukas won't even admit to himself that he'd like to think of Mathias as something more.





	1. Two outcasts meet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas and Mathias meet for the first time. Basically just a typical meeting chapter, nothing spicy.

Mathias and Lukas aren't sure how it started.

They were just... best friends. Not for as long as they remembered, Mathias could tell you where and when they met, and Lukas could tell you who said what and what grade they were in. But they didn't know how exactly their friendship came to be. What they could piece together from memory came out confused and would look something like this.

Mathias sighed, watching his breath quickly condense and float away in the late autumn chill. He had been expelled from his old school because he kept getting into fights with his bullies, and the school was biased against him because of the sheer number of times this had happened, so he wasn't even given a second chance before being sent to this new school. Of course, being the new kid, he had no friends and everyone was really too scared to talk to him after hearing the wrong side of the story from one of his former bullies who had moved here. It having been a year since he had last gone to a public school (he was homeschooled up until his parents had found this school to send him to), he had no clue how he was supposed to try and socialize.

So, of course, he walked up to the kindest-looking kid he saw; a Finnish kid with blond hair, who was currently talking to some friend of his, much taller than he was and slightly intimidating. Mathias recognized the friend as Berwald; he was the 'cool kid' of the fifth grade, letting strangers play _Minecraft_ on his phone on the bus ride home. Mathias still remembers his first words to the smaller boy:

"How do I make friends?"

The kid, who he knows now as Tino, pointed to the corner of the little playground, where another blond with a cross-shaped hairclip and a hair curl that somehow floated was sitting alone on top of some bricks. This is the part where Lukas interrupts with a, _'I was sitting on the ground. There was no reason for bricks to be there.'_ Mathias just shrugs, replying that _'It doesn't matter, we're still friends now.'_

Back to the story. Tino said that,

"That's Lukas Bondevik. He's been here since kindergarten, I think, but he doesn't have any friends. He just sits there alone every day. Why don't you try talking to him?"

Mathias nodded, walking over to the boy, completely unaware of what this would begin for the two of them, but determined to become his friend anyway. Neither of them admit to knowing what it was they first talked about, or either even introducing themselves. They did both know each other's full names before properly meething, anyway. In any case, the oldest conversation they can remember was the next day.

* * *

 

Lukas was standing alone, next to a muddy puddle; it had rained last night. He was deep in thought, thinking about that Mathias kid he had talked to yesterday. He was nothing like the rumors said, which puzzled him. He'd overheard talk in the car rider line that, "That new kid, Mathias, I heard he's a savage monster bully!" and, "Mathias once killed his teacher's pet bird when she gave him an F!", so why was he so nice? Okay, he was a little annoying, but he did seem to care about him.

His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the back of his legs get hit by the muddy water as someone stepped behind him, greeting him very loudly.

"Hey, Lukas!"

He turned to face the taller boy. "Hello, Mathias..."

"Ya looked kinda lonely, ya need someone to talk to?"

Lukas lightly shoved him away, rolling his eyes. They talked for the rest of recess anyway, but the only part of the rest of the conversation either could remember was when Mathias slipped and fell in the mud on the way back inside and it became an inside joke for the rest of the year that Mathias, "lick the grass like he lick the ass," as some stranger yelled upon seeing him fall. It was silly and immature, but at that age, pretty much everyone was. Can you blame them? 

Okay, Lukas denies remembering any of that or that ever being an inside joke because he's mature. But Mathias _knows._

* * *

 

**That was kind of a short chapter... but I swear it gets interesting lmao. I'll try to have the next chapter up by tomorrow.**


	2. For the last time, we're not friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two stories in one chapter.  
> 1- Lukas is stressed over the science fair, and guess who's here to help.  
> 2- Nordic sleepover for Lukas's 11th birthday.  
> Generally just a filler chapter, I guess. Depending on where this goes.

Of course, Lukas didn't consider them friends by then. He's not sure when he stopped describing Mathias as an acquaintance, but there are two specific dates that come to mind when he thinks about it.

_November 13th._

Lukas sighed, groaning as his head fell onto the desk in defeat. Why the hell did he have to do the science fair? It was due in less than a week, and he had nothing done yet but his question: Which gender is easier to trick with magic?

As the days got colder, he was spending more of his recesses indoors while all his peers were playing outside, having fun, and not worrying about the science fair. The only noise in the room came from Ivan playing _Tetris_ on his old gameboy, also staying indoors to avoid the cold. That is, until there was a loud slam of the door. Lukas thought nothing of it, packing up his half-finished homework as he assumed recess was over and the teacher was coming back into the room when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Ya feelin' okay, Lukas?" came Mathias's voice, to his surprise.

"Not really," he confessed, "I haven't even started on the science fair project and it's due tomorrow..."

"I know the feelin'. Thankfully I had half a brain t-" He was interrupted by a sarcastic, "You have one?"

"Yes, I do! Do ya want me to help ya or not?"

Lukas paused. As much as he hated accepting help, he wasn't exactly in a position to refuse. Besides, he could test his magic tricks out on Mathias. So he agreed, getting Mathias's help to make a list of everyone in their grade, before getting out his cards.

"What're ya gonna use those for?" Mathias asked, tilting his head.

"I can't tell you. Just shuffle the deck and choose any numbered card, placing it on top of the deck," Lukas instructed him, looking away as the Dane did as he was told.

"Remove its value in cards from the bottom of the deck, placing them on top of your selected card." Mathias did this, as well.

"Deal the cards one at a time, calling out the names of every card as you go."

Mathias, still confused, did so. "Uh... okay? Seven of clubs, Three of clubs, Six of spades, Three of hearts, Eight of diamonds, Four of spades..."

"Is your card the Three of hearts?"

Mathias stood there for a moment, mouth agape. How did he do that?! "Y-Yes."

Lukas smirked, turning back to him as he took out his notebook. "How do you think I did it?"

Mathias wasn't sure. He thought for a long minute, before saying, "I have no clue."

"Just take a wild guess."

"You're a mind reader!"

Lukas rolled his eyes, taking note of his answer anyway. He explained the trick to Mathias, as well as why he even did it. He then got up, packing everything but his cards and his notebook up. They spent all day doing card tricks before their classmates, and Lukas finally had gathered his data. As the boys stood in their classroom, waiting for school to be dismissed, Lukas showed a rare smile as he thanked Mathias. the Dane wasn't quite sure what to say. He'd never seen Lukas smile before- nobody had-, but he wasn't able to stare long, because the bell rang. He rushed out a, "N-No problem," before running to the bus, eager to get home.

That was the one year Lukas had actually won the science fair.

_May 17th._

It was Lukas's eleventh birthday party. He'd invited some friends to his house for a sleepover, and it was one of the few things that excited him as he stared out the window. He still remembers how unusually ecstatic he was, running down the stairs to greet Mathias as soon as he saw him get out of his father's car. They both hugged each other tightly in greeting, exchanging small talk as they walked into Lukas's room, which he shared with his younger brother, Emil. Mathias was already grinning wide as they talked to each other about varying subjects, waiting for the other party guests to arrive.

It wasn't until Tino arrived that things became mildly interesting. Tino ran into the bedroom, smiling as usual and greeting his friends. Well, he was only sort of friends with them, to tell you the truth. Lukas had become rather close with Berwald over the past week or so, and in the process, became acquainted with Tino. Since the Swede was only ever seen without Tino when he was at home, it wasn't very easy to talk to him without his Finnish companion sneaking into the conversation. Besides, Tino was a good friend to have, anyway. He brought sweets with him to anything and everything, earning him a title as the fifth grade's candy dealer, so neither Lukas nor Mathias were surprised when the Finn brought with him a large bag of various sweets.

The bag was shared among the four boys, and they managed to eat an eighth of the bag by the time Berwald had arrived. He was the final guest. Once he had arrived, then the party really began- cake and ice cream were eaten, Lukas opened his presents, the children ran around outside, and when they had finally exhausted themselves and it was getting dark enough for Lukas's parents to call them inside, the fun still did not end. In the Bondevik brothers' bedroom, they told scary stories in the dark as they cooled down from their sugar highs.

"Aina slowly crept toward the door... and a big scary monster with sharp claws and teeth came out and grabbed her!" Mathias excitedly told his story, jumping out and imitating the roar of a great beast for dramatic effect. This, of course, scared the youngest of them all out of his wits. Emil shrieked, hiding behind his older brother.

"Don't be scared. It's only a story, lillebror..." Lukas mumbled, turning around and hugging the seven year old.

"P-Promise, big b-brother?" Emil asked, shaking with fear.

He nodded. "I promise."

Lukas then turned to Mathias, mildly angry. The stories were supposed to be scary, sure, but jumpscares weren't allowed. "Don't do jumpscares, idiot."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do!"

"Have a decent story that doesn't rely on things suddenly jumping out and screaming at you."

"Like you can do better!"

Long story short, Lukas was the only one who slept that night, as the others were all terrified that a monster was watching them and would eat them in their sleep.


	3. A loss, a gain, and something more than just a game.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lukas is struggling with his reputation, but then some SuFin angst gives him an idea.

Eventually, however, Lukas did admit that maybe, just _maybe_ , he was Mathias's 'friend'. Kind of. If you asked him, anyway. The truth was that he was rather close friends with Mathias, but it wasn't like him to openly say it. He really did like Mathias, but it was Mathias's lingering reputation as a harsh brute that kept him from saying it out loud. He used every possible excuse to stay away from the Dane when they could be seen by other kids, but the times he had no excuse were undeniably bringing down his own reputation. He'd seemingly gone from nothing more than the weird quiet boy at the edge of the playground to Mathias's sociopath accomplice overnight.

His peers rarely said it to his face, but he still overheard people saying it to each other when he walked through the hallway. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence. Happened more frequently as the days dragged on, it seemed. He would be on his way to the restroom, his presence yet unnoticed by a group working in the hallways. Their words echoed in the quiet building.

_"Yeah, didn't you hear? Mathias was picking on Arthur again, and when Arthur ran to go tell a teacher, Lukas stopped him and held him down and started beating him up!"_

_"I thought those bruises were from the most recent Francis incident. That's what he told me, anyway."_

_"Yeah, me too."_

_"That's what Lukas made him say... or else he'd beat him up again!"_

_"OH MY-"_

_"Shush, he's coming! Uh... question five, twenty-one divided by seven, did everyone else get three?"_

Lukas pretended he didn't hear, just as he always did. He tried not to care, but it was hurting him to hear all these things being said about his closest friend. Even more so about himself, obviously, but he could handle it because he knew for a fact that those things weren't true. He sighed, staring at himself in the mirror with his usual blank expression. He didn't look anything like how the rumors depicted him. He was a skinny nerd with a quirky dork for his only friend, not some crazed lunatic with a thirst for middle schooler blood, and that was obvious at first glance.

He fidgeted with the front of his light blue sweater-vest. He didn't even have to use the bathroom. The only reason he'd come was that the classroom was too noisy for him and he needed some peace. He'd also wanted to hear the latest gossip on himself from the fourth graders down the hall. Well, he didn't really  _want_   to, but he felt like he needed to know it. He needed to know everything, because he was trying to come up with solutions to his situation. Just then, he heard footsteps coming closer.

Quickly, he pulled up his long sleeves, pretending to be washing his hands. Tino walked in, groaning. The typically cheerful boy sounded uncharacteristically miserable. Lukas raised an eyebrow, turning to the Finn. Tino looked like a mess. His usual smile was replaced by a sad frown that just didn't fit his sweet face, his hair and clothes were both extremely mussed, the area around his eyes was red and puffy, and he was tearing up. He sat down and curled up in a ball, sobbing into the still damp sleeves of his shirt.

Lukas was bewildered. Tino was always so upbeat and bubbly. It just wasn't like him to be this upset unless something completely disastrous was happening. Lukas quickly dried his hands before walking over to Tino and asking, "What's wrong?"

Tino looked up at him, a whole new wave of sadness hitting him as he forced himself to say, "I-I'm moving," between sobs.

Lukas paused, the sadness latching onto him, as well, and drawing him in to hug Tino, a weak attempt to comfort him. He thought about it more. If Tino left... Berwald would be extremely lonely, nobody to spend his time with. He'd heard Berwald's description of a perfect day- most of it was Tino-oriented. It was clear that, to Berwald, Tino was not just a ray of sunshine, but the sun itself; his world apparently revolved around the Finn. Lukas actually found Berwald's obvious crush amusing, how he tried to hide it and failed spectacularly, but now it took his sympathy and hit him right in the face with it, and it felt more like a steel baseball bat than an abstract concept.

"Have you told anyone?"

"B-Berwald."

Of course the Swede was the first person Tino would come to with anything this big.

"What did he say?"

"Nothing. He- He just nodded. Lukas...?"

"Yes?"

"D-Do you.... think he _wants_ me gone?"

Lukas shook his head. "Have you seen the way he looks at you? Heard the way he talks about you?"

"N-No..."

He would have chuckled at the Finn's obliviousness if it weren't so sad. "He's completely in love with you."

Tino's eyes widened, and he looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "W-What...?"

"You heard what I said."

Tino stared at the ground, the feeling of loss intensifying. All the things Berwald did seemed to make sense now. How he would always hold Tino's hand when they hung out together, how he would bring him flowers at random times, how he would always be a girl when they played pretend... okay, that last one hadn't happened since they played the game last, in third grade, but he would probably still choose to be a girl if they played it again. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't he ever noticed!? Tino got up, running off and crying even harder.

 _Fuck,_ Lukas thought, _someone's going to say I was bullying him in here. Oh well._ His classmates- the ones who didn't despise him, anyway- were probably worried about why he was taking so long. He washed his hands, running back to his classroom, when an idea popped into his head that would, hopefully, solve his problem.

_Replace him._

* * *

 

**Yikes, this was late. I kept forgetting to post it. Anyway... hope y'all enjoy the angst that's to come, because I sure am. *evil cackling***

**I love making fictional characters suffer, don't you~?**


	4. Sadness and silence.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just to shake things up, this chapter centers around Berwald, who is failing miserably at coping with losing Tino, while Lukas tries to cut his ties with Mathias.

Tino ran into his classroom. He tried to ignore the weird looks he got from his peers as he went to his seat and tightly hugged Berwald, sobbing on his shoulder as the Swede gently stroked his hair in an attempt to calm him. No words were exchanged for a solid ten minutes, until they were broken apart by the teacher. She seemed very concerned, asking Tino if he was alright. He simply nodded, looking over to Berwald as she walked away.

"So... B-Berwald...?"

"Hm?" The Swede raised an eyebrow.

Tino averted his gaze, blushing lightly as he tried to avoid eye contact. "L-Lukas told me... y-you... eh... l-liked me..."

Berwald blushed as well, nodding as to confirm the statement.

Tino was about to start crying all over again. "I... I should have n-noticed before... but... I-I do... um... f-feel the same way... though, I-I guess it... d-doesn't matter anymore, d-does it?"

He shrugged, pulling Tino back into a hug. He quickly looked around, making sure nobody was watching, before gently kissing Tino on the cheek.

_Later that day..._

Berwald sighed, watching his breath cool into small wisps of frost, floating away into the evening sky. He'd just gotten off the bus, walking to his house. He had a small frown, staring at his own breath as it flew off. Just like Tino from my life, he thought grimly. Why couldn't he stop thinking about him!? Sure, he was in love, but he didn't want to think about the Finn. He was moving. He was effectively gone from his life. Berwald needed to stop thinking about it. But he couldn't. As soon as he got into his bedroom, he sank to the ground. He'd loved Tino since they first met, and when he finally finds that he feels the same way, fate just takes him out of his life like it was nothing. Like it wouldn't matter.

He felt like his heart had been ripped out of his chest, thrown on the ground, and stomped on. It ached to know that he would likely never see Tino again. He was usually calm and stoic, but even Berwald couldn't remain that way his whole life. His heart shattered and the tears started welling up in his eyes. He cried for a long time. He cried all night, actually.

* * *

In the morning, his pillow was still damp with his tears from the night before. However, the cruel world hated him, and forced him to act like he hadn't just lost his love. He was awoken by his mother's soft, gentle voice telling him to get out of bed and get ready for school. He didn't protest. He put his education before himself, getting dressed to go to school like it was any normal day, putting his glasses on and hoping the blur others saw through them was strong enough to hide his red, puffy eyes. Berwald took one last look at the neatly wrapped present sitting on his desk, directly under a calendar. On the calendar, the current date was excitedly surrounded by a bright red heart, a small note inside of it.

_December 6_

_Tino's birthday._

It was the day he'd planned to tell Tino about his long-hidden feelings. He picked up his red marker, drawing a jagged line through the now-broken heart, before leaving.

Tino was not at school that day, nor would he be there the next, or the next, or any subsequent day that would follow.

At recess, Berwald sat alone in a corner of the playground, watching all the others play. He gently patted the ground beside where he was sitting, so used to finding Tino's hand there for him to hold. Now he knew it was useless, of course, but that's why he was so surprised when he did find a hand there. He jumped up slightly in his spot, turning to the space beside him, a bit shocked to find Lukas sitting there. Lukas simply stared back at him as if this was not in the slightest unusual.

"Lukas? Why 'ren't ya w'th M'thias?"

"We had an argument and decided it would be better if we just went our separate ways," he half-lied. "I supposed you'd be lonely without Tino here."

Berwald simply nodded, staring into the distance. He appreciated that Lukas wanted to help him through his best friend's loss, he really did. But it just wasn't the same. It was filled with an awkward silence, Lukas occasionally trying to break it as he watched some kids playing pirates, making obvious comments with little humor, such as, _"There goes Alfred, walking the plank again,"_ or, _"Captain Kirkland is down, too bad Brits can't swim."_

Berwald didn't like it. He wanted Tino back, not someone trying to replace him. He missed the bubbly Finn's cheerful rambling, his sweet, gentle touches, that cute face he made when he was so excited about something that he could barely handle it, those rare moments where he did a complete 180 and became terrifying. When recess was over, he looked over to his side, half-expecting to see Tino there, whining that, _"Recess can't be over! It's only been a few minutes!"_ before turning to Berwald, telling him that he'd see him the next day, and smiling in such a cute way that it made his heart skip a beat and he wanted to pull him in close and kiss him hard right then and there, not caring who was watching. But instead, he was greeted with an indifferent looking Lukas, looking at him and saying, "We have a class together next, don't we?"

Berwald shrugged, pulling his schedule out of his pocket and handing it to Lukas. Lukas looked it over for a minute, handing it back to the Swede and telling him that they had all of their classes after recess together. They both remained silent as they went to their next class. Since there were no assigned seats, Lukas sat next to Berwald today. Mathias was also in the class, and he followed Lukas to his seat, persistently trying to converse with him, with absolutely no response each time. The only words shared between the three boys was Mathias's obnoxious begging for Lukas's attention, and Berwald liked this even less. It seemed everything had forever changed and nothing would get better. His world seemed to stop turning as his sun disappeared. He started shaking as his emotionless facade started to crack.

This was the first time anyone in the school had seen Berwald cry.

* * *

 

**Well, that was sad. Man, I love angst! Don't worry, I'm not pushing Lukas and Mathias completely to the side. This is still a DenNor fic. Trust me, Tino moving and Berwald being lonely are gonna tie into the plot. I feel like Berwald's a bit ooc here... but then again, nobody is completely emotionless, and this is middle school, where everyone and everything are all over the fuckin place.**

**Oh yeah and happy Thanksgiving I guess?**

 


	5. A Temporary Fix.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there is more angst, but the focus returns to the DenNor.

Mathias was certainly not happy with this sudden change. Since they had met, he'd spent all of his time with Lukas, and it simply wasn't right for him to be with Berwald instead. He didn't even know what he'd done wrong. Lukas having been his only friend, he had nobody to turn to with his problem. He tried to make new friends and replace him, but nobody would go near him. Others just seemed to avoid him like the plague, and Mathias had no idea what he'd done wrong. All he had was the painful memory of his final conversation with Lukas.

_The grass coating the landscape glistened with frost. Mathias was sitting on top of it, shivering in the wet and cold. Why had he forgotten his coat at home on what would be the coldest day that week!? He silently cursed himself as he curled up tighter in a ball. However, he knew, his waiting would be worth it. He was waiting for Lukas. They had passed in the hall earlier that day, and when they did, Lukas told him that he had something important to talk about, but they would do it at recess. He was given a spot to wait for him. Mathias was rather tempted to get up and leave, but Lukas hadn't talked to him in six full days._

_So, Mathias waited for what seemed an eternity in the cold, although it had only really taken five minutes for Lukas to show up. He looked even more cold and distant than usual, but Mathias guessed that it had to do with Tino- they were, after all, friends. Lukas scoffed. "Idiot, what are you doing out here with no jacket on?"_

_"Forgot it. Anyway, what was it ya wanted to talk about?" Mathias smiled, excited to talk to him for the first time in nearly a week._

_And that was when Lukas's words, cold as the ice around them, hit him at full force in the heart. "I don't want to be your friend."_

_"What?!" Mathias sat there, baffled._

_"You heard me. We're not friends."_

_"Why?!"_

_"You're annoying," Lukas mumbled, turning and walking away without another word, leaving Mathias there, cold, wet, confused, and heartbroken. Mathias ran after him, pleading for another chance, but Lukas only shoved him away in silence. Mathias eventually gave up, returning to the waiting spot and watching Lukas from a distance. He couldn't hear what he was saying, or see well enough from where he was to tell if he was actually saying anything or not, but he was quite hurt when he saw him with Berwald. They seemed like they were having fun together._

That was two whole months ago, now, but it seemed only yesterday. In those two months, nothing had gotten better. Lukas had never come back, telling Mathias that he was sorry and he wasn't really annoying. Mathias's reputation was still horrible, even if he was blissfully unaware of it. Berwald still couldn't find anyone that could fill the hole Tino had left in his heart. Tino was still gone. In fact, Tino's moving seemed now to be just the first domino to fall. Then Lukas left Mathias for Berwald. Berwald was still unhappy, talking even less than he already did. The world didn't just stop turning, it flipped upside down. East was west, north was south, Mathias was sad, and Berwald was a crybaby. Okay, he didn't cry that much, but it still happened at least once a week.

So, this was the sixty-first recess he spent alone in silence, pacing the edge of a forest like it would make things change. This was simply madness. Mathias couldn't take the loneliness anymore. He'd tried everything to get Lukas back. Well, everything that was legal for a sixth grader to try. It just wasn't fair! They were barely even friends with Tino!

It continued almost until the end of the year, nothing getting better and all three boys miserable. Berwald, naturally, had it the worst. He lost interest in everything. Nobody had heard him talk since May, and the only thing he'd said to any of his peers that month was a simple, quiet, "H'ppy birthd'y" to Lukas. Nothing would make him happy. Not even _Minecraft_ , which was his second favorite thing in the world (the first being Tino). Everyone was worried about him, especially because summer was approaching and Berwald would have on a turtleneck even if it was ninety degrees out. But there were no specific interesting moments in that time, really.

Then, something that could only be described as a miracle happened. Tino came back to visit. It would only be for a few days, but Berwald finally seemed enthusiastic about something. He was pretty much all over the Finn as soon as he walked in the door. As a result of this, Lukas really couldn't stick to Berwald like he had been. So, first opportunity he got, Mathias jumped on Lukas and started attacking him with questions. Lukas shoved the Dane away, glaring at him. When Mathias tilted his head in hurt confusion, Lukas's glare only intensified.

"What did I tell you? We're not friends."

"Why not?! Tino's back now! Ya don't have to go comfort Berwald all the time!"

Lukas looked away. "I wasn't comforting him, we barely even spoke."

"So why couldn't we be friends?!"

There was a long moment of uncomfortable silence. "Do you even know your own reputation?"

Mathias shook his head, feeling a bit stupid for not knowing.

"It's horrible. You were dragging mine down. That's why."

Another moment of silence, then laughter. "Don't tell me ya actually care about that stuff!"

Lukas felt his face heat up with frustration. "I do! I don't want everyone to hate me just because I hang out with you!"

Mathias looked back up at him, wiping away a tear. "And here I was, thinkin' I did somethin' wrong!"

"Idiot," Lukas mumbled, pushing him out of the way and walking to class, Mathias running after him with apologies.


End file.
